The Impersonator
by NeverlandAwaits
Summary: Alyssia was just another normal elf. She had family and friends that were always there for her. Now that all of them are caught up in the new happenings of Avon, she is sure that things aren't going to go down smoothly.
1. Chapter 1

"Alyssia!"

Even before the name was spoken, an arrow was already on its way towards the werewolf's body. It was stunned for a moment, but its eyes soon widened as it fell to the ground, the arrow still stuck where his heart was. The archer that had sent the creature to its death slowly walked up to it and inspected the arrow. She pulled it out to inspect the damage, completely ignoring the werewolf as it turned to black smoke below her. The arrow wasn't broken, only splattered with blood, and therefore passed the examination. It was quickly slotted back into place with the other arrows.

This archer, Alyssia, turned to look at the rest of her comrades, who were healing and resting. She knew that sometimes they would need to do that, but was it necessary for it to be so often? They were in Coill Dungeon, which was easy to Alyssia, but not so much as the others. She sometimes wondered how she had the patience to stay with them, but she quickly realised that they were her friends and that she would love them no matter what. She was like a mother and older sister to them, after all.

"I don't get why they need to rest up after every single room," said the boy next to her, running a hand through his black hair. "I mean, come on, it's only Coill."

Alyssia laughed and said, "That's exactly what I was thinking, Bandit. These guys are so helpless sometimes."

"Oi," said one of the girls from the other side of the room - Noelle, Alyssia's cousin. "Not all of us can be completely comfortable like you, you know."

Alyssia rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know." She looked back to where they were heading next. She could see four switches in each corner of the room and sighed. It was one of those times where she need everyone's cooperation. She waited until everyone was back on their feet before entering the room, gesturing for the others to follow. Once they had gathered around, Bandit stepped in and took over, much to her annoyance.

"Alright, guys. Four of us will go to one switch each - that will be Alyssia, Noelle, Yale, and myself. The rest of you go to the dungeon door and wait there." He glared at Alyssia before continuing. "I personally would prefer it if we fight all the monsters here, but _someone_ won't let me have my way. We'll all make a break for the next room afterwards, and if we get caught, I'll finish them off."

The group went to their posts, Alyssia running to the right switch nearest to the door. She looked at Bandit, who counted down from three, then whacked the orb with all her might.

After that, everything was just chaos.

Yale and Noelle ran into each other at the entrance, becoming a mix of black and green on the floor. Bandit had started protecting them from the red grizzly bears, but the other monsters in the room were already starting to notice and attack him. The other five - Milly, Timothy, Hestia, Shanna, and Maximus - had been seen by a werewolf, which some of them weren't fast enough to outrun. In five seconds, Milly and Maximus were on the floor, pinned down by the werewolf. Alyssia ran to help them, using magnum shot to injure the werewolf so her friends could break free. She defeated the monster in a couple of shots, then ran over to help Bandit, Yale, and Noelle.

"I can handle this!" Bandit yelled. He clearly wasn't capable of anything at the moment, as he didn't realise he was being hurt by his own sword.

Ignoring his protests, Alyssia shot her arrows at each of the monsters, making sure that they had done their job properly before taking them all out so they could be reused. She joined her team mates over in the middle of the corridor, which lead to their next room. She didn't complain about them healing this time, as they were definitely in need of it. She used her own magic to charge up her healing, which she used on Bandit who was refusing help from Yale.

"Hey, what the hell, Aly?" he questioned. "Can't you see that I don't need healing."

From over where she was healing Timothy, Noelle smirked and said, "Sure, and that's why you have a bleeding arm and leg as well as a huge gash in your cheek. Can you even walk properly after that twisted ankle?"

"Just a flesh wound," Bandit defended, sticking his chest out proudly. "I'll be fine."

Yale shook his head. "That Bandit."

And so the group continued to trek through the dungeon, which seemed longer with Bandit complaining about his ankle every few seconds and constant perverted observations from Timothy and Shanna. After what felt like ten thousand hours, they reached the last room, known amongst the citizens of Erinn as the 'Boss Room'. Hestia, who had grabbed the Boss Room Key, opened the door and revealed the boss - three giant ice sprites. These weren't something Alyssia hadn't dealt with before, so she grabbed her bow and charged in. Bandit followed her example.

The others hesitated near the door until Shanna shruged, held up her swords, and shouted, "Charging in with guns blazing!" Alyssia wanted to point out that she didn't actually have any guns, but kept it to herself. It wasn't the time for that. She did, however, roll her eyes when Maximus screamed, "For Narnia!" before helping Shanna.

Alyssia concentrated on her ice sprite, which she was sharing with Bandit. Even though he could get on her nerves, she thought the two of them made a great team. Outside of the battlefield? Well, that was a different story. She got along with everyone else in their group of friends, even though she could be at odds with Timothy at times, and she also didn't like newcomers like Milly (who she was starting to warm up to). If there was anyone she didn't like, they certainly wouldn't be with her now.

She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice that the sprite had been defeated and that she was pointing her bow and arrow straight at Bandit, who held up his hands in surrender and said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. I know we have our arguments, but c'mon, Aly. You're not going to kill me."

"We're Milletians, we can't die," Alyssia said, but she put down her weapon nonetheless.

By this time, the others had finished killing their opponents and were celebrating. Timothy and Yale were dancing around in a circle, arm-in-arm, while Milly watched and giggled. Shanna wiped down her swords, Maximus pushing up his glasses while he inspected how clean they were. Hestia and Noelle were already on their way to the rewards room and out of the dungeon. Alyssia ran to catch up with them just as the others started to.

The reward chests in the back room were shiny as always, and she peered at her reflection just as she always did. She sometimes didn't like what she saw, and now was one of those times. Her elf ears had seemed to have become pointier, as well as her chin. Her pale blonde hair seemed somewhat childish, tied up in its two ponytails, just as it always had been. She would have to change it sometime. Everything on her was white, which made her skin and outfit look the same. She sighed and opened the chest to collect her gold before joining the others as they teleported back to the dungeon altar.

While our story may be centred around Alyssia, not everything important happens to her. It also happens to calm and cool Bandit, the funny boys Yale and Timothy, the underrated family member Noelle, the fangirl Shanna, the intelligent boy Maximus, the wanderlust victim Hestia, and the shy and romantic newcomer Milly. They don't believe they're anything special. They have their hopes, dreams, and insecurities, but maybe one day, just one day, they will figure out what is most important.

Whether they are ready to accept their future or not, it is already approaching. For as soon as they stepped out of that dungeon, they were greeted by a figure in a red cape and white mask. He spoke as if he were in a play, his voice dynamic and booming.

"Milletians! Avon is in need of your assistance. The guardians have not been vanquished, only subdued! It is only a matter of time before they arise again to take down Shakespeare. No one is in need of that! You, all of you, will be the ones to help."

And in a blinding flash, he was gone.

They blinked and rubbed their eyes. They were astounded! Astonished! Yet, so confused. It was only when a good minute had passed by that Hestia spoke up and said, "I thought Marlowe couldn't leave Avon."


	2. Chapter 2

Not even half an hour after their run-in with Marlowe, they had gathered at one of the peers in Emain Macha and had begun arguing. Alyssia herself was against the so called Marlowe, believing that it had not been an imposter. Hestia, Bandit, and Maximus thought so as well, and she was grateful for their support. Timothy, Noelle, Yale, and Shanna all thought that it was the real Marlowe and that Hestia had been mistaken when she had thought Marlowe could only stay in Avon. This left Milly to be the tiebreaker, and as everyone hassled her onto joining their side, she suggested something in her quiet tone.

"Why don't we just go up to Marlowe and ask him?"

The rest of them were silent for a moment, and Alyssia wondered how she hadn't thought of that. She shook her head and said, "That sounds like a good plan, good job, Milly." This made the more petite girl smile.

Alyssia went through her inventory, which was a small selection of things that she could fit in a small handbag. Everybody had an inventory of some sort, but there always had to be a way to lug it around. She took out the white feather used to teleport her to Avon and touched it, letting the magic inside it wrap around her and whisk her away to what she liked to call Actor's Heaven. In ten seconds, the magic was gone and she was standing near Marlowe.

Marlowe's mask didn't hide the surprise in his eyes when he saw nine people appear before him all at once. Alyssia held back a giggle at the expression. She was about to start speaking, but once again, Bandit beat her to it.

"Marlowe, are you allowed out of Avon?" he asked, cutting right to the chase. Was there no sense of delicacy anymore?

Fortunately, this didn't matter to Marlowe, who simply said, "I have been asked this many times, but the answer is always the same. No, I am not allowed to leave Avon, as it is meant as a prison for those living here." His voice sounded rather bitter to Alyssia, but she didn't take too much note of it. She would be resentful too if she was trapped in the same spot for years and years.

The actual answer to the question was what worried her. If Marlowe wasn't allowed out of Avon, who was the person who approached them not even an hour earlier? He had certainly looked like the actor - same height, same build, same voice. Of course, some things could be changed using magic, and if that was the case they had nothing to lead with.

"Why do you ask?" Marlowe said, flipping through the pages of his newest script. "Or was it just something you were inquiring?"

Alyssia started talking before Bandit could even open his mouth. She explained what had happened outside of Coill and why they had chosen to come to Avon. Marlowe barely even blinked as she spoke, nodding throughout the short recollection to tell her he was listening. When she was finished, he looked as confused as she felt.

"I haven't heard anything about the guardians since they were supposedly defeated by the hero. It is possible that there has been a mistake in the way to combat them. After all, the residents of Avon, including myself, are learning much of this as we go along," said Marlowe thoughtfully. "If you guys were the ones asked, I also ask that you at least look into the situation. It could be that only you can stop this. I would assist, but unfortunately, as I have said, I am bound to this place."

Shanna folded her arms across her chest. "Sure, sure, we can't say no, can we?" She turned to the others. "Come on, we have to get to school."

Alyssia groaned. She had completely forgotten that they had class that evening, even though she shouldn't have, as it was a weekday. She studied sword mastery, magic usage, and archery at the school in Dunbarton, though she always preferred to use her lance. Sighing, she said, "We'd better go, guys."

* * *

Alyssia hated magic class. The classroom was stuffy, there were too many alchemy crystals stored in the drawers, and they could never concentrate due to the other classes having fun outside or in other classrooms. Magic was something more quiet, according to Stewart. Personally, Alyssia thought that was a lie, considering she made a lot of loud noises when she was using magic in combat.

"Now, open your textbooks to page a hundred and three," Stewart said, turning to the chalkboard. It was just as well, as Yale was mocking him behind his back.

Alyssia didn't bother reading the textbook along with the class. She already knew about today's subject, having read ahead while she had nothing to do and the others weren't around. Instead, she started out of the window where the fighters were starting their practical lesson. Milly and Noelle were set to spar against each other, which was a horrible match-up in Alyssia's opinion, as Noelle was much better at martial arts than Milly. On the other hand, Milly could learn a lot from Noelle, especially as she had a couple of particular handicaps.

From beside her, Bandit nudged her and said, "Pay attention, Aly." When she glared at him, he continued, "You never know when he might call on you - or worse, when you don't actually understand the material."

Alyssia placed a smug smile on her face. "Remember when you were running around with Timothy, Noelle, and Hestia chasing bandits while commercing because you're just _so_ smart? I was studying this whole textbook, specifically this chapter, since I knew it was coming up soon, did you?"

Bandit blushed and focused on Stewart again. Even though they had known each other since they were little, Alyssia found it a miracle that she was able to tolerate him every day. She blamed Noelle for introducing the two of them, as they were both very competitive with each other and others around them. Sometimes it became so out of hand that their friends had to attempt to restrain them - attempt being the keyword there. Regardless of what she said, if Bandit wasn't in her life she would probably be twice as bored as she normally was. It was nice to have someone motivate her to do her best even if the intention was to absolutely destroy their pride.

In front of her, she saw Yale looking out the window just as she had been. He seemed to be watching the martial arts spar between Milly and Noelle very intently. Timothy, who was next to him, was trying to gain his attention, but it was to no avail. Yale could get like this sometimes, daydreaming as he stared into space. He didn't need to pay attention, as he had grown up already knowing most things about magic. He only went to magic class because he enjoyed the subject.

Timothy stopped trying to gain the attention of his friend, moving his head to see what he was staring at. He smirked, turned around to wink at Alyssia and Bandit, then poked Yale on the shoulder once again. "Yo, yo, yo. You like Noelle, don't you?"

This snapped Yale out of his trance. "What? No, of course not!" he defended, making sure he wasn't too loud so Stewart wouldn't look at him. He had already been in trouble for not focusing on his work many times before.

Alyssia thought about the accusation. If it was true, then Yale was doomed. She knew that Noelle had feelings for Timothy, and if he had reacted in such a carefree way to his own statement, Noelle was bound to be heartbroken. She could almost taste the tears that were bound to come. Instead of focusing on that, she said, "Timothy, either focus on your magic or our little Avon problem."

Taking care of others was exhausted.


End file.
